John James Newsletter No. <49>

The Great Transition: Shifting from fossil fuels to solar and wind energy by Lester R. Brown
The link is to Chapter One. “While France is completing construction of its last nuclear plant, it is in the process of developing 25,000 megawatts of wind generating capacity, of which 8,300 megawatts were already online in 2013. It is aiming to drop its nuclear share of power to 50 percent by 2025. China, which has 16,000 megawatts of nuclear generating capacity, has developed a world-leading 91,000 megawatts of wind generating capacity.”
www.earth-policy.org/images/uploads/book_images/EPI_TGT-ch01.pdf

Climate Change Hastened Syria’s Civil War
Drought in Syria, exacerbated to record levels by global warming, pushed social unrest into an open uprising in 2011. The conflict has since become a major civil war with international involvement. Drought from 2006 to 2011 forced many farmers into the cities. The influx added to social stresses already created by refugees from the war in Iraq.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-change-hastened-the-syrian-war/

Australian science research facilities prepare for shutdown as government refuses to secure funding
Some of the facility’s 94 staff – all but three of them researchers or technicians – will take jobs overseas, and one has already left for Canada The uncertainty means the facility has not entered into any commercial contracts past the end of June, meaning revenue will likely fall even if the government money comes through.
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/04/research-facilities-prepare-shutdown-government-refuses-secure-funding?CMP=ema_632

A Mediterranean diet is ‘better than exercise’ and can halve the risk of heart disease
Those who stuck to the diet, consisting of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, olive oil, fish and even a glass of red wine were 47 per cent less likely to develop heart disease over a 10 year period.
http//;www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2979508/A-Mediterranean-diet-better-exercise-halve-risk-heart-disease.html

Delhi Gang-Rape Convict Blames Victim
“When being raped, she shouldn’t fight back. She should just be silent and allow the rape,” Mr. Singh says in the BBC film. “If she hadn’t resisted, the rapists would have dropped her off after ‘doing her,’”.
blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2015/03/02/delhi-gang-rape-convict-blames-victim-for-the-attack-bbc/?

Intergenerational Report fails at first hurdle – ignores climate change
Peter Costello introduced Intergenerational reports to assess the economy over the next forty years. Climate change is mentioned just 12 times – and only in passing – in the 175 page report. This is a massive oversight because the environment is the very foundation stone of Australians’ livelihoods and way of life
reneweconomy.com.au/2015/intergenerational-report-fails-at-first-hurdle-ignores-climate-change-51863

U.S. Strategy in Iraq Increasingly Relies on Iran
“The only way in which the Obama administration can credibly stick with its strategy is by implicitly assuming that the Iranians will carry most of the weight and win the battles on the ground,”
www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/world/middleeast/us-strategy-in-iraq-increasingly-relies-on-iran.html

Police investigate Save the Children whistleblowers over Nauru abuse report
staff had anonymously written a submission outlining cases of sexual and physical abuse of children, and acts of self-harm. “We believe that the children have been subjected to multiple violations of their human rights and wrongdoing from multiple parties.“
http;//www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/04/police-investigate-save-the-children-whistleblowers-over-nauru-abuse-report?CMP=ema_632

New Silk Roads and the Chinese Vision of a Brave New (Trade) World
The Beijing leadership vision of a potentially mind-boggling infrastructure, much of it from scratch, that will connect China to Central Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe. Such a development will include projects that range from upgrading the ancient silk road via Central Asia to developing a Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor; a China-Pakistan corridor through Kashmir; and a new maritime silk road that will extend from southern China all the way to Venice. Don’t think of this as the twenty-first-century Chinese equivalent of America’s post-World War II Marshall Plan for Europe, but as something far more ambitious and potentially with a far vaster reach.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175959/tomgram:_pepe_escobar,_inside_china%27s_%22new_normal%22/#more

New Study Shows California Droughts Driven by Climate Change and Here to Stay
The increasingly frequent and severe droughts that have punished California over the past two decades are primarily the result of human-caused climate change and will likely grow even worse. This new research analyzes historical records and computer simulations of global warming, to investigate the role of changing temperatures.
www.commondreams.org/news/2015/03/03/new-study-shows-california-droughts-driven-climate-change-and-here-stay

Carbon crash, solar dawn: Deutsche Bank on why solar has already won
Their report suggests solar will become the dominant electricity source around the world as it beats conventional fuels, generates $5 trillion in revenue over the next 15 years, and displaces large amounts of fossil fuels. But by 2030, the solar market will increase 10-fold, as more than 100 million customers are added, and solar’s share of the electricity market jumps to 10 per cent. By 2050 solar’s share will be 30 per cent of the market.
reneweconomy.com.au/2015/carbon-crash-solar-dawn-deutsche-bank-on-why-solar-has-already-won-51105
and
Energy storage to reach cost ‘holy grail’, mass adoption in 5 years
reneweconomy.com.au/2015/energy-storage-to-reach-cost-holy-grail-mass-adoption-in-5-years-18383